Ensibuuko

Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Field Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.

Status Update - June 10, 2015

Kiva and Ensibuuko recently agreed on a revised repayment schedule that would allow Ensibuuko to repay its outstanding balance to lenders over time, while it deals with liquidity challenges. Unfortunately, Ensibuuko is already in violation of this revised agreement, but Kiva will continue to advocate for our lenders to be repaid and we will continue to update this page with any new developments.

Status Update - April 15, 2015

Kiva has decided to pause Ensibuuko's access to fundraising loans on the Kiva platform. Due to a current inability to access liquid assets, such as cash or short-term borrowing, this organization has been unable to repay Kiva lenders in full for repayments made by Kiva borrowers. Ensibuuko currently has $34,735 outstanding owed to Kiva lenders, $12,611 of which is past due. Kiva and Ensibuuko have agreed on a new repayment plan of $2,000 per month until the entire outstanding balance is repaid. Kiva will continue to pursue recovery of all outstanding funds and will pass those funds on to lenders as they're received. Ensibuuko will not be fundraising for new loans on the Kiva platform until this balance has been fully repaid.

Overview of Ensibuuko

Ensibuuko is a for-profit organization that works with rural Ugandan farmers to provide them with access to farm inputs, market information, finance and solar products.

Established in 2011, the organization utilizes a mobile platform that includes a rural advisory network of extension workers, access to purchase inputs over the phone, secure loans for these inputs, and links a farmer’s produce to larger markets at harvest.

A unique lending approach:

Ensibuuko provides loans to farmers for agriculture inputs, including fertilizer and seeds, and solar products. Each individual farmer’s repayment schedule is structured to match the cash flows of his or her principal crops. Ensibuuko selects its borrowers from experienced farmers with a high level of integrity that have demonstrated leadership potential in their community. All Ensibuuko borrowers make a commitment to apply proper farming practices in their farms and agree to mentor and transfer skills to other farmers in their community. In this way, Ensibuuko is building a cohort of model farmers committed to mentor local farmers in their community.

Through the use of their mobile platform, Ensibuuko is also providing farmers with high quality inputs and market information they would otherwise not have access to. With a current reach of 35 districts, Ensibuuko intends to directly extent its services to 25,000 rural farmers in the next 5 years.

Because 90% of Ensibuuko’s borrowers are from off-grid communities, Kiva loans will also be used to help farmers acquire affordable solar systems for lighting and charging mobile phones so that they stay connected and productive. Kiva’s support will also allow the organization to extend loans to more rural farmers who are capable of increasing their production capacity.

Currently, Ensibuuko is reinvesting its profits into a farmer fund that will provide loans to women farmers who demonstrate the potential to grow and manage a rural-based processing plant.

Kiva Fundraising Status

Other Information Sources

Ensibuuko's Mission Statement

Ensibuuko is committed to providing rural farmers in Uganda with a means of accessing high quality farm inputs, markets, financeand solar products. The for-profit organization uses mobile technology to enable farmers to access a rural advisory network of extension workers, purchase inputs over the phone, secure loans for these inputs, and link their produce to larger markets at harvest.
In 2013, Ensibuuko received the ICT4Agricuture award by CTA and Microsoft for its innovation of a computer and mobile application that strengthens the financial management capacity farmer cooperatives in Uganda by enabling and secure and convenient transfer of savings and loans through an SMS and mobile money interface.

Why Kiva Works With Ensibuuko

Kiva shares Ensibuuko’s dedication to using mobile technology to provide new opportunities to rural farmers. The company currently has about 1,000 registered farmers on its platform and has over 25,000 other farmers within their immediate reach. By the end of 2013, over 600 small holder farmers had accessed commodity markets through Ensibuuko’s platform, enabling them raise over $80,000 in farm income.
Loans issued by the organization are used to purchase farm inputs and solar products that rural smallholder farmers would otherwise not have access to.